Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing apparatus control method, and storage medium storing program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10937675-B2
Application number	US-201816217188-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 12, 2018
Priority date	Dec 18, 2017
Publication date	Mar 2, 2021
Grant date	Mar 2, 2021

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a stage configured to place thereon a substrate or at least a portion of a substrate holding member configured to hold the substrate, the substrate having two sides extending in a first direction and two sides extending in a second direction; a transporter configured to transport the substrate to a position facing the stage; first and second sensors, which are fixed relative to the stage and respectively located outside the sides, extending in the second direction, of the substrate at the position facing the stage so as to detect the sides of the substrate, respectively; and third and fourth sensors, which are fixed relative to the stage and respectively located outside the sides, extending in the first direction, of the substrate at the position facing the stage so as to detect the sides of the substrate, respectively.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a stage configured to place thereon a substrate or place at least a portion of a substrate holding member configured to hold the substrate, the substrate having two sides extending in a first direction and two sides extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction with adjacent sides of the substrate forming corners therebetween;
a transporter configured to transport the substrate to a position facing the stage;
first and second sensors which are fixed relative to the stage, each of the first and second sensors respectively located outside opposing sides of the substrate extending in the second direction and proximate to a respective corner of the substrate, the first and second sensors each being separated from a target center of the substrate in the first direction by a same first predetermined distance, at the position facing the stage so as to detect the sides of the substrate adjacent the first and second sensors, respectively;
third and fourth sensors which are fixed relative to the stage, each of the third and fourth sensors respectively located outside opposing sides of the substrate extending in the first direction and proximate to a respective corner of the substrate, the third and fourth sensors each being separated from the target center of the substrate in the second direction by a same second predetermined distance, at the position facing the stage so as to detect the sides of the substrate adjacent the third and fourth sensors, respectively; and
a controller configured to: change relative positions of the stage and the substrate in the first and second directions until the first to fourth sensors detect respective sides of the substrate adjacent thereto when the substrate is transported to the position facing the stage; calculate respective displacement amounts of the relative positions required until the first to fourth sensors detect the respective sides of the substrate; calculate errors of the position of the substrate from a target position in the first direction based on the respective displacement amounts in the first direction detected by the first and second sensors and the first predetermined distance; calculate errors of the position of the substrate from the target position in the second direction based on the respective displacement amounts detected by the third and fourth sensors in the second direction and the second predetermined distance; and adjust the substrate to the target position based on the errors calculated in the first and second directions.

2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is moved relative to the stage by the transporter until the first to fourth sensors detect the respective sides of the substrate, respectively.

3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the stage is moved relative to the substrate until the first to fourth sensors detect the respective sides of the substrate, respectively.

4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is adjusted to the target position by moving the substrate relative to the stage by the transporter based on the errors in the first and second directions.

5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is adjusted to the target position by moving the stage based on the errors in the first and second directions.

6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the substrate adjusted to the target position is set on the substrate holding member or the stage by the transporter.

7. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a stage configured to place thereon a substrate or at least a portion of a substrate holding member configured to hold the substrate, the substrate having two sides extending in a first direction and two sides extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction with adjacent sides of the substrate forming corners therebetween;
a transporter configured to transport the substrate to a position facing the stage;
first and second sensors which are fixed relative to the stage, each of the first and second sensor respectively located outside opposing sides of the substrate extending in the second direction at one end of the substrate and proximate to a respective corner of the substrate, the first and second sensors each being aligned along the first direction and separated from a target center of the substrate in the first direction by a same first predetermined distance, at the position facing the stage so as to detect the sides of the substrate adjacent the first and second sensors, respectively;
a third sensor which is fixed relative to the stage and located outside one of the sides of the substrate extending in the second direction at a remaining end of the substrate opposite the one end, and positioned proximate to a remaining corner of the substrate, at the position facing the stage so as to detect the respective side of the substrate at the remaining end side; and
fourth and fifth sensors which are fixed relative to the stage, each of the fourth and fifth sensors respectively located outside opposing sides of the substrate extending in the first direction and proximate to a respective corner of the substrate, the fourth and fifth sensors each being separated from the target center of the substrate in the second direction by a same second predetermined distance, at the position facing the stage so as to detect the sides of the substrate adjacent the fourth and fifth sensors, respectively; and
a controller configured to: change relative positions of the stage and the substrate in the first direction until each of the first and third sensors detect one side of the substrate adjacent thereto when the substrate is transported to a predetermined position facing the stage; calculate respective displacement amounts of the relative positions required until the first and third sensors both detect the side of the substrate; calculate a rotation angle of the substrate from a target position based on the respective displacement amounts detected by the first and third sensors; and adjust the substrate to the target position based on the rotation angle.

8. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to: change the relative positions of the stage and the substrate in the first and second directions until the first, second, fourth, and fifth sensors detect respective sides of the substrate adjacent thereto when the substrate is transported to the predetermined position facing the stage; calculate respective displacement amounts of the relative positions required until the first, second, fourth, and fifth sensors detect the respective sides of the substrate; calculate errors of the position of the substrate from the target position in the first direction based on the respective displacement amount in the first direction detected by the first and second sensors and the first predetermined distance; calculate errors of the position of the substrate from the target position in the second direction based on the respective displacement amounts detected by the fourth and fifth sensors in the second direction and the second predetermined distance; and adjust the substrate to the target position based on the errors calculated in the first and second directions.

9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the substrate is moved relative to the stage by the transporter until each sensor detects each side of the substrate.

10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the stage is moved relative to the substrate until each of the first to fifth sensors detects each res

Assignees

• Ebara Corp

Inventors

• Yamasaki Gaku

Classifications

• H10P72/3411

  involving loading and unloading of wafers · CPC title

• H10P72/3402

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title

• H10P72/53

  using optical controlling means · CPC title

• H10P72/0606 Primary

  Position monitoring, e.g. misposition detection or presence detection · CPC title

• C25D17/06

  Suspending or supporting devices for articles to be coated · CPC title